USA: BASKETBALL - Knicks guard Jeremy Lin has gone from being a seldom-used player at the end of the bench to a team leader on a now-winning team and has brought a case of 'Linsanity' to the Big Apple

Record ID: 786313

  • Title: USA: BASKETBALL - Knicks guard Jeremy Lin has gone from being a seldom-used player at the end of the bench to a team leader on a now-winning team and has brought a case of 'Linsanity' to the Big Apple
  • Date: 14th February 2012
  • Summary: TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 13, 2012) (REUTERS) NEW YORK KNICKS PRACTICING AT THE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN TRAINING CENTER VARIOUS OF THE KNICKS PRACTICING KNICKS GUARD JEREMY LIN AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JEREMY LIN, GUARD, NEW YORK KNICKS, SAYING: "Yeah I, I try not to read too much of the newspaper. But when we go to the Garden and we pl
  • Embargoed: 29th February 2012 12:00
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  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA72S826WHUVWXCCG4P0944RDHG
  • Story Text: Chinese-American Jeremy Lin is blazing a trail as the sudden savior of the New York Knicks.
    A clean-cut Harvard graduate rejected by a string of NBA teams, New York Knicks guard Lin has emerged suddenly over the last couple of weeks to inspire fans.
    Lin's exploits, which have sparked a wave of "Linsanity" have been witnessed by millions of fans and he now has nearly one million fans on his microblogging account.
    The 23-year-old Lin wrote yet another chapter in his incredible saga by pouring in 38 points Friday (February 10) to send a packed Madison Square Garden crowd into rapturous delight with a 92-85 victory over Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers for New York's fourth straight win.
    Lin, the first Taiwanese-American to play in the NBA, rose from obscurity to sublime winner by averaging 25.3 points and
    3 assists in three victories that captivated the city and Asian-Americans across the United States.
    He topped even that spectacular debut on the NBA's big stage by outdueling five-time NBA champion Bryant as the Garden fans, some wearing Lin masks, chanted "MVP, MVP" while watching the point guard carve up the Lakers with his pinpoint passing and confident drives to the hoop.
    Undrafted and cut by two other teams this season before signing with the Knicks, Lin got his chance because of injuries and the struggling form of the Knicks, who were 8-15 before he took charge on the floor in the absence of their two top scorers, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire.
    Lin, who took the day off training on Monday (February 13) admitted in a news conference that he was overwhelmed by all the attention.
    "I try not to read too much of the newspaper. But when we go to the Garden and we play and the fans come out in full force, I mean that makes everyone excited and we feed off their energy and it's awesome to play in the Garden right now," he said.
    "I'm having a lot of fun. I think at the end when you remember teams and when you look back on seasons what you really remember is your teammates and the moments you went through with your team. You don't remember anything else but the relationships that you built and the games that you fought through, the adversity you fought through to win and that's what we're doing right now, we're enjoying it as a team and we're making strides," he added.
    Success has come so quickly to the NBA's latest rage, whose exploits have been called "Linsane", "Lincredible" and the victory skein he has directed a "Lin-ing Streak", that he does not yet have his own apartment, sleeping on the sofa of his brother, a graduate dental student at New York University.
    Basketball experts have underestimated how talented Lin is.
    The 6 ft 3in (1.91m) Lin was not recruited by any of the major U.S. college basketball powers despite leading Palo Alto High School (California) to a 33-1 record and the state championship.
    He was twice named to the all-Ivy League team but went undrafted in 2010 by NBA teams.
    "I don't really care how long this lasts as long as we win. To be honest. As long as we keep winning that's what we're talking about on this end. So I'm not really too worried about anything but tomorrow's game, which is a winnable game, the one after which is another winnable game and then moving on from their," Lin said.
    A groin strain to Carmelo Anthony and a leave granted to Amar'e Stoudemire after his brother was killed in a car crash, left the Knicks shorthanded and coach Mike D'Antoni decided to give Lin a look on the court.
    With Lin in action, the Knicks came alive.
    Using his cross-over dribble, court vision, passing skills and ability to drive to the hoop, the young guard was able to get his team mates involved and thrill the crowds.
    "Everyone's kind of overlooked him the last 20 years, probably since grade school and to his credit he just kept plugging away, he's got an opportunity and he's making the most of it, but I'm sure along the way people have kind of like him, because he was picked up from waivers twice, a lot of guys don't get picked up on waivers, so someone obviously saw something but it wasn't enough to get him over the hump or the situation just didn't, wasn't available," D'Antoni explained on Monday.
    Teammate Anthony added, "It's crazy, I mean everywhere you go it's Lin, Lin, Lin, Lin and I'm actually enjoying it. My son told me to tell Lin 'What's up'. Like I said, it's everywhere. It's a lot of excitement, not just surrounding Lin but surrounding New York once again and I feel honored to be a part of it."
    "I think he's great for the team. I think having someone like Jeremy Lin really shows the worldliness, the cosmopolitanism of New York City. Because we are New York City, we are the whole world. So having Jeremy Lin is a great plus for us," one Knicks fan, Rudolpho Delafuente, told Reuters Television.
    "We've got ourselves a new star. I don't know what the coach is going to do with him now. So it's going to be fun. So It's nice to see somebody not just come off a bench do what he's done, but just the thought that he was almost cut, we almost didn't have this kid and somebody else would have. So he's going to go far, and I love the fact that he gave the praise to his team and to God. Good for him. Good man," added fan Paulo Mckenzie.
    Lin says despite the sudden rush of fame, he will just be trying to focus on playing the game.
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